Every Day Devotion

  Romans 15:25 [25] At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. (ESV) Paul has his eyes set on bringing the Gospel to Spain. He tells the church at Rome that he is going to visit them, hoping to raise financial support for the mission work in Spain. Before he gets to Rome, however, Paul must go to Jerusalem. He is going to bring a financial contribution to the church there. Paul may very well have had mixed feelings about going to Jerusalem. In the beginning of Paul's ministry the church at Jerusalem was hesitant to believe in the Apostle Paul's apostleship, or even his Christianity. Remember that he had previously been dragging Christians out of their homes and having them imprisoned for their faith. He was holding coats for the ones who were stoning Stephen, the Church's first martyr, to death. Paul did most of his preaching outside of Jerusalem. In every city he would preach the Gospel to the Jews first, and then the Gentiles. He showed respe

Romans 15:23–24 [23] But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, [24] I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. (ESV) Are you the kind of person who finishes a task? Or do you get started on a project with great zeal, only to run out of steam, not actually completing what you started? I think the majority of people give up before they finish what they started. The Apostle Paul was different. He was the kind of man who was committed to a task until it was finished. In these verses Paul says that he no longer has any room for work in the regions where he is currently writing from. Paul is writing the letter to Romans from Corinth. He is saying that he has finished his work. The Gospel has been preached so effectively that he needs to move on to other areas. This would include his desire to preach the Gospel in Spain